Prologue
The Flailing of Fools Times are changing in the lands of men. The duchies have begun to align according to their view of the portent of the falling stars. Duke Brackard joins forces with Duke Melifore and Lord High Warden Smyte against Duke Dagnir Therion. Therion is rumored to have discovered or developed a new weapon that, when wielded, would give him significant advantage over all of the other dukes. Duke Brackard and his allies want to defeat Therion before he can complete the weapon and bring it to bear. Duke Brackard conscripts a large number of men of fighting age to march against Therion. While considered a fair ruler, he is also a hard man and his officers are allowed to get away with a number of things. Along the way, one of the officers attempts to force himself on a woman. She is not as helpless as the officer believes and defends herself. The officer bleeds to death in front of the army as the woman makes her escape into the wild. The Duke orders her left alone in hopes that the wilds will dispense "justice" to her. In the morning, the army marches on. At Duke Therion's castle, the three aligned dukes begin their siege. One ancient technology, lost centuries ago, is employed by their forces: the trebuchet. Though it takes longer to build, the trebuchet's range and capacity for larger ammo makes it worth the effort. Slowly the walls are pummeled while the army remains out of arrow range. The attacking dukes focus on a singular portion of the wall and within a few days breaches are made. Once each of the three armies has an entry point, the charge is called. As the armies race to enter the breaches, round portals open all over the castle's outer walls. Long, metal cylinder's extend. With the armies only a few feet from the gap, Therion's new weapon is deployed. Metal balls burst from the cylinders, smashing at high velocity through the army ranks on all three sides. When the balls finally hit the ground, they explode in a hail of shrapnel, shredding any nearby. Therion's weapon is already complete and it is devastating. The attacking armies are devastated. Only a tenth of Duke Brackard's army survives, mostly the siege engine crews and his personal guard. Stunned, the duke orders a return to his lands. Survivors Some of those that survived the foolish attack is a team working a mobile forge for Duke Brackard. Klale Tsolo of Nost, is a giant of a man, a blacksmith who grew up under Duke Brackard's reign. He is joined by Toben Ironsprings, a scholar and engineer, Ano, a young monk from the far east, and Phineas Highwood, an incorrigible child of the streets of Nost. As the team travels back toward Nost, they discuss striking out on their own to find the fallen stars. The discussion turns to the old storyteller they'd heard in Nost who might have more information. Along the way, they are ambushed by survivors of Duke Melifore's army. With help from the woman who fled the camp, the ambushers are soundly defeated. They explain that Melifore was crazy and attacked at the front of his army. He died when one of the metal balls from the new weapons removed his head. The group leaves the men alive. The woman, Aashera, leads them into the trees away from the road. It turns out that she is a couple years younger than Klale and grew up with him. She is also the granddaughter of the old storyteller, Eles Elend. She guides the wagon team to her grandfather's cabin in the woods. There they are fed and are able to discuss their plans to seek out the stars. Eles, who is well traveled and has a fondness for maps, shows where he believes the first and easiets of the stars can be found: a place called Mordune. Geared up and resupplied, the team, along with Eles and Aashera, head south and west toward Mordune. Continue to Chapter 1: Song of the Earth. Story Chapters Prologue: The Legacy of Men Chapter 1: Song of the Earth Chapter 2: Digging up the Dwarves Chapter 3: Dark Hearts * Chapter 3.1: Ourn's Story Chapter 4: Dying Forever Chapter 5: Rebirth of a Star Chapter 6: Return to the Duchies * Chapter 6.4: A Bard's Tale (Ryland's Story) Chapter 7: Tempest of Fire * Chapter 7.1: Rise of a Paladin (Galad's Story) Category:Story